Washington State Republicans: Palin's An 'Awesome Pick'

Here's local reaction to John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee.

Republican state Attorney General McKenna: "It's an unexpected and brilliant choice. He needed to choose someone who would rally the base. This clearly does that, but she also has tremendous crossover appeal, obviously to women. The pundits are already saying now McCain can't criticize Barack (Obama) for not having enough experience. Well, Palin is not running for president. She's running for vice president. She gets the experience she needs while she's vice president."

Tony Benegas, 47, West Richland, a city councilman and a delegate to the national Republican convention: "What an awesome pick. She's just an incredible person. Very conservative. Extremely pro-life. I'm just awe-struck. I can't think of a better choice. She's a gorgeous lady first of all. Five kids. Talk about shattering the glass ceiling ... Here's someone I can wholeheartedly support."

Applications for Leadership Tri Cities Class XIV Available

Applications for LTC Class XIV are now available at the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce. Information is also available on the website at http://www.leadershiptc.org/. The deadline for submission is May 1, 2008.

About Leadership Tri Cities
The mission of Leadership Tri-Cities is to develop a cadre of skilled leaders who will be catalysts for positive change in our community and who will mentor others toward this end; to facilitate an exchange of ideas and solutions for problems best addressed at local and regional levels.